Automatic-rotary-valve clearance regulator for internal-combustion engines



11' 1927. 1,644,908 0? v. F. ZAHODIAKIN AUTOMATIC ROTARY VALVE CLEARANCE REGULATOR FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed March 10. 1926 3 Sheets Sheet 1 A TTORNE Y.

644 908 1927' v. F. ZAHODIAKIN AUTOMATIC ROTARY VALVE CLEARANCE REGULATOR FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed March 10. 1926 s Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY;

1,644 1927' v. F. ZAHODIAKIN AUTOMATIC ROTARY VALVE CLEARANCE REGULATOR FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed March 10, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 11, 1927.

entree s'rrss Parr oFFics.

VICTOR F. ZAHODIAKIN, OF NORVIOGD, OHIO, ASSIGNOB. OF ONE-THIRD TO JOHN A. SCANLON, TRUSTEE, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

AUTOMATIG-ROTARY-VALVE CLEARANCE REGULATOR FOE INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

Application filed March 10, 1926. Serial No. 93,675.

The invention relates to tapered rotary engine in Fig. 1, showing another modified valve mechanism for internal combustion enform of the invention attached thereto;

gines. Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section of The objects of the invention are to prothe tube supporting arm;

vide simple, economical, durable and practi- Fig. 7 is a vertical transverse section taken cal means to prevent the rotary valve of the on a line corresponding to 77 in Fig. 1;

internal combustion engine described in my and no application Serial Number 71,404, and other Fig. 8 is a section taken on a line correinternal combustion engines, from sticking sponding to 88 in Fig. 4.

in its seat; toprovide means to maintain said In the preferred construction of the in valve in close proximity but spaced apart vention, I provide internal combustion enrelation to its seat, whereby lubricant is gine 1 comprising usual engine block 2 havadapted to occupy the clearance space being engine head 8 suitably fixed thereto. tween said valve and its seat to prevent the The block 2 is provided with usual cylinders escape of compressed gases through said space 4 into which are fitted usual reciprocating from the cylinders of said engine; to propistons 5.

vide mechanism to minimize the friction of The engine head 3 consists of valve casing said valve during its operation, whereby said 6 which extends horizontally and longitudivalve is adapted to actuate with minimum nally of the head and has bearing or seat 7 wear and maximum etliciency; to provide slightly tapered from front 8 to rear 9 of means adapted to permit said engine to be the engine. Extending longitudinally of rotated with the application of minimum head 3, and fixed by bolts 10 to its sides 11 power thereby saving the wear of the usual and 12, respectively, are inlet and exhaust electric starting battery; to provide means pipes 13 and 14. The pipes 13 and 14, readapted to automatically maintain said valve spectively, have pipes connected therewith in substantially equal spaced apart distance which lead to a usual carbureter (not shown) from said seat irrespective ofthe normal operand to a usual exhaust pipe muffler (not ative temperature of said valve and engine; shown). V ater jackets 15 and 16, respecand to provide manually operative means tively, are around casing 6 and cylinders 4. whereby the clearance of said valve from its The tubular tapered valve plug 17 is roseat may be conveniently and correctly adtatably mounted in seat 7 of casings 6, and

justed. as hereinafter will be fully explained, the H5 WVith the foregoing and other objects in valve 17 is unadapted to contact seat 7. view-which will apear as the description pro- The webs 18 in the form of fans 19 are ceeds, the invention resides in certain novel fixed in spaced apart relation inside valve 17 features, the combination, arrangement of for the combined purposes; to create air curthe parts and in the details of the construcrents through the rotatable valve to efiectution, as will be more fully hereinafter deally maintain a low temperature of the. valve; scribed and claimed. to support the walls of the valve against in- In the drawings: ward pressure exerted by the force of the .Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an internal explosions within cylinders 4 of the, engine; combustion engine with parts broken away, and to provide means to secure shaft 20 to and showing the invention; the valve. 1 I

Fig. 2 is a section, with parts broken away, Each of the webs 18 has hole 21 into which taken on a line corresponding to 22 in shaft 20 is fitted and fixed in concentrical re- Fig, 1; lation to the outer tapered bearing surface Fig. 3is a section, with parts broken away, 23 of valve 17. taken on a line corresponding to 33 in The outer ends 24 and, 24, respectively, of Fig, 1; shaft20 are rotatably mounted and slidable Fig. 4 isa section taken in the same plane longitudinally in bearings 25 and 26, suitas Fig. 3, but showing a modified form of ablysecured to engine 1, whereby the valve the invention; v v isslidable longitudinally of its seat 7. The 105 F 5 is a vertical transverse section of the shaft 20 being concentrically positioned in ill relation to valve 17 and seat 7 of easing 6,

the tapered surface 23 of the valve is always parallel to the tapered seat 7 in easing 6.

To provide automatic means to exertrearward force on valve 17, the rear end 27 of shaft has race plate 28, of thrust bearing 28, fixed thereto. Compressed coil spring 2%), positioned around portion 30 of the shaft, has ends 31 and 32, respectively, secured to race plate 28 and contacting bearing 25 whereby compressed spring 29 is caused to exert continuous pressure against plate 28 thereby tending to force valve 17 rearwardly in contact with tapered seat '7 of casing 6.

Pipes and 84 shown in Figs. 1, 3 and a are, respectively, connected with casing 'water jacket15, and usual water jacket 16 around cylinders 4 in engine block 2. The water jacket 16, of engine block 2, as usual, is connected with the bottom of the usual radiator (not shown) by pipe 34 and the 'water jacket 15, of easing 6, is connected with the top otthe radiator by pipe 83, whereby the Water is caused to circulate, inasmuch as ackets 15 and 16, are connected, and thewater, or other cooling agent, within the jackets is heated as a result of the ex plosions within cylinders.

tended end 42' of tube 411 is pivotally mounted, by pivot 13, in bifurcated end l i of support at; fixed to head .3 by bolts 46. Rod 47, integral with'end 48. of tube il, has groove a9 in its end 50. Rotatably mounted in groove d9, as by pin 51, is roller 52 having bearing contact with pendent arm 53 having its upper end fixed to the endo-t spindle rotatably mounted in bearings 55 fixed to l'ower rear. edge 56 of head 2 by bolts Rocker arm,'58 having its lower end 59 lined to splndleorrod 5%, bolt .60 threaded in its upper end 61. Integral with end 62 jot bolt is concave'holder 63 havin semi-spherical member 64 movable unversally. therein. The outer side 64- of member 64 is in contact with race plate 650i thrust bearing :28, whereby shaft 20 is adapted to be fnioved longitudinally (by screwing or unscrewing bolttiO) to. positionvalve liin spaced apart relation from seat"? in casin 6. Thisadjustinent is made perinanentby tightening inuttlll, whereby during theoperation of en glue 1 the surtace 23 ot' the rotary 'valverotates in sufiic'iently close proximity. to seat 7 to prevent actual contact of the valve with the casing and to permit lubricant or other suitable sealing element (suitable conveyed to seat 7) to seal the space 66 between the valve and its seat, whereby the compressed are prevented from escaping from cylinder 1 through space Inasmuch as the linear expansion, for a unit length for each degree of temperature, of certain metals is not proportional to the applied heat, the coil spring (57, secured to tube 4-1 and side 68 of block 2, is arranged to urge the tube downwardly in contact with roller, 69 rotatably mounted in top oi elongated container 71 made of metal or other suitable material which is caused to expand by the application of heat.

The elongated container is fixed to engine. block 2, as by bolts 72 received through the bottom of the tube, whereby ex )ansion and contraction, respectively, of the container, is adapted to force tube 41 upwardly and permitspring ('3'? to force tube ll downwardly. To provide means to expand and contract the container 71 proportionally to the temperature of engine 1, the ends 73 and 74, rcspectively, of flexible pipes 75 and 76, are connected with the upper and lower portions respectively of the container. The ends 7? and '28, respectively, of the pipes 75 and To, are connected with water jacket 16 of the engine block whereby water from within jacket 16 is adapted to circulate through pipe 76, container 71 and pipe 75 thereby causing the container to expand and con-- tract as the temperature of the water changes. The curved surface 79 of arm upon which roller 52 adapted to roll 5 j be plotted to permit the required moven t (through rod 5%, arm 58, bolt 60, menil (34 and bearing 28) of shaft 20 to maintain valve 17 closely and properly spaced "from seat 7 irrespective of the temperature of the engine during its normal operation.

in Fig. 1%, I show a modified form of t invention which adapted to in li valve 17 in equal spaced relation from seat 7 durii'ig the various conditions under which the en ine will operate, when the various parts of the mechanism are made or metals which expand proportionally to the applied heat. The tube 11 pivotally COFlQCi. d with support 1-5, in the manner pi i described of the structure shown 1 and 2.

The I-b olt 80 foove 81 in end 82 of tube L1, as bybolt o combinedly received through holes 8% and 6-6, respectively, in and bolt 83. The

upper endot bolt-.80 is threaded inthe lower end of pendent arm 86, having its upper end tined to spindle 54, whereby the adjust ment of bolt 80 a. position, depending upon the expansibility of tubefill, inthe threaded end otarm 86 is adapted to mainill] is pivotally mounted in ill) tain the valve 1? spaced a pred-termiucd distance from seat 7 of easing 6 through operation of the mechanism herein previously described and comprising, arm 58, ,bolt (50, member 64, hearing 28, spring 29 and shaft 20. The pipes 03 and 34;, respectively, are connected with jackets and 16, to provide water to regulate the temperature of the tube.

In Fig. I show still another modified form of the invention in which tube 41, in combination with either of the detailed structures shown in Figs. 1 or 4, may be connected with flexible pipes '37 and 38 whose respective ends 35 and 36 are connected with exhaust pipe 1a, adjacent the engine, and the exhaust pipe adjacent the muiiler (not shown), whereby the temperature of tube il is regulated by the heat transmitted from engine 1, for purposes herein previously fully explained.

The chief advantage of the invention is to permit valve 17 to rotate, during the operation of engine 1, in close proximity of seat 7 of casing 6, whereby the spring 29 is unadapted to force the valve in wedging engagement with its seat. Because of the fact that sufiicient compression must be maintained in spring 29 to prevent the valve being removed a substantial distance from its seat, during the operation of the engine and under the various conditions of the utilization of the engine, the efi'ect of heat or the rapid rotation of the valve or the loss of lubricant or the combined effect of some or all of these things is likely to cause the valve to stick or wedge in its seat, as well as score and mutilate the surface 23 of the valve and its seat if spring 29 were permitted to force valve 17 in direct Contact with seat 7, whereby the rotary valve would be rendered valueless as a dependable, economical and durable mechanism. bricant, or other suitable sealing agent or element, may be forced into space 66 by usual means, as by a usual oil or other pump 8?, suitably operated, supplying the sealing agentunder pressure to pipe 88 and thence into auxiliary pipes 89 and onto surface 23 of valve 17.

Another advantage of the invention is that the outer surface of valve 17 or its seat 7 is unlikely to be scored or otherwise damaged should the engine become overheated as a resultof depletion of the lubricant between the valve and its seat, as the mechanism herein previously described is adapted to maintain the valve from actual contact with its seat.

VVhile- I have chosen to illustrate the forms and constructions of the invention by the herein drawings and explanations of the same, it is understood that the invention resides in the combination, arrangement of the parts and in the details of the construe The 1ntion, as hereinafter claimed. It is further understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention, as disclosed herein, can be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention, as other expedients may readily suggest themselves to the art.

lVhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the class described, a valve casing, a tapered valve rotatable in said casing, thermostatic means to maintain said valve in close proximity to the inner walls of said casing whereby a space is formed between said valve and said casing.

a sealing element, and means to supply said sealing element into said space.

2. In a device of the class described, a valve casing, a valve rotatable in said casing,

thermostatic means to maintain said valve in close proximity to said casing whereby a space is formed between saidvalve and said casing, a sealing element, and. means to supply said sealing element into said space.

3. The combination with an internal combastion engine, of a tapered rotary valve, a tapered seat for said valve, means to maintain said valve in close but spaced apart relation to said seat, whereby lubricant is adapted to occupy the space between said valve and its seat to prevent the compression Within the cylinders of said engine escaping between the valve and its seat, and means adapted to maintain said valve in equal distance from said'seat irrespective of Y the normal temperatures of said engine.

4. The combination with an internal conibustion engine, of a tapered rotary valve, a casing, a tapered seatin said casing in which said valve is adapted to rotate, means to automatically maintain said valve in closely spaced apart relation to said seat, means to fill the space between said valve and said seat whereby the compression within the cylinders of sald engine is unadapted to escape through said space, and automatic means to maintain said valve in a predetermined spaced relation to said seat.

5. The combination with an internal combustion engine, of a casing fixed to the block of said engine and having a tapered valve seat therein, a tapered valve rotatably mounted in said seat, means to automatically maintain said valve in closely spaced relation to said seat and means to fill the space between said valve and said seat whereby the compressed gases are unaclapted to escape from the cylinders of said engine between the valve and its seat.

6. The combination with aninternal combustion engine, of a casing having a tapered valve seat therein, a tapered valve rotatably mounted in said seat, means to automatically maintain said valve in closely spaced relation to said seat and means to fillthe space between said valve and said seat whereby the compressed gases are unadapted to es cape from the cylinders of said engine between the valve and its seat;

7. The combination with an internal combustion engine having a water aclret around the cylinders, of a tapered rotary valve, a

casing in which said valve is rotatable, and

the other end ofsaid coil spring fixed to the outer race, a spindle rotatably mounted transversely of said engine, a rocker arm fixed to said spindle, a bolt threaded in the upper end of said rocker arm and having a concave end, a. semi-spherical member movably mounted in said concave end in contactwith the outer race otsaid thrust .bearlng whereby screwing and unscrewing said bolt lsad'apted to cause longitudinal movement of said shaft and said valve, a

tubeifixed tosaid engine, a pipe connected from the water acket of said casing to said tube, a pipe connected from-the water jacket of said cylinders'to said. tube, and connecting means between said tube and said spindle whereby expansion and contraction of said tube effected by the temperature of the, water from said ackets is adapted to rotate said spindle, thereby determining the longitudinal'position of said valve, substantially 1 as and tor-the purposes specified.

1 transversely of 8. The cornbinationwith an internal combustion engine having a Water jaciret around of a tapered rotary valve, a

its cylinders, casing having a tapering bearing in which said valve is rotatable and having a Water jacket, a shaft supporting said valve and fixed thereto and slidable longitudinally, bearings for. said shaft, resilient means to.

maintain outward force longitudinally of said shaft, a spindle rotatablymounted fixed to said spindle,-

said engine,- a rocker arm;

a bolt threaded in the upper end of said rocker arm and having connection with saiu shaft, whereby screwing and unscrewing said bolt isadapted to cause longitudinal movement of said shaft and said valve for spacing said valve from said bearing, a tube fined to said engine,

means connecting the water jacket of said casing to said tube, means connecting the water jacket of said casingv to said tube, means connecting the water jacket of said cylinders to said tube, and connecting means between said tube and said spindle whereby expansion and contraction of said tube effected by the temperature of the water from said jacketsis adapted to rotate said spindle thereby determining the longitudinal position of said valve, substantially as and for the purposes specified. T

9. The combination with an internal conibustion engine, having a water jacket-around its cylinders, ota tapered rotary valve, a

vcasing having a tapered bearing in which said valve is rotatable and having a water acket, a shaft supporting said valve and fixed thereto and, slidable longitudinally,

bearings for, said shaft, a coil spring to maintain outward force longitudinally oi said shaft, a spindle 'rotatably mounted transversely of said engine, a rocker arm fixed to said spindle and having connection with said shaft, a :metal tube fixedto said engine, a pipe connected from the water'- jaclret oi said casing to said tube, a pipe connected from the water jacket of said cylinders to said tube, and connecting means between said tube and said spindle whereby expansionand contraction of said tube, ettected by thetei'nperature of the water from it, jacl;ets, is adapted to rotate said spindle thereby imparting movement to said rocker arm whereby the longitudinal position of said valve with relation to said casin bearin is determined substantiall as and for the purposes specified.

10. The combination with an internal co1nbustion engine, of a rotary valve, a seat for said valve,, and automatic means to maintain said valve in adjusted position with relation to said seat. 7 V

VICTOR F. ZAHODIAKIN. 

